December 17, 2013
10:00 AM (EST)

News Release Number: STScI-2013-51

Hubble Watches Super Star Create Holiday Light Show

December 17, 2013: This festive NASA Hubble Space Telescope image resembles a
holiday wreath made of sparkling lights. The bright
southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the
image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust
illuminated by the glittering star. RS Puppis rhythmically
brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the
most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable
stars. The nebula flickers in brightness as pulses of light
from the Cepheid propagate outwards. Hubble took a series
of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a
phenomenon known as a "light echo."